Pineapple Princesses began as a tribute to Ruby Borrowdale, the home economist behind the 'Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book' tested in the Golden Circle kitchen and modified and updated in the Pineapple Princesses' test kitchens.
As Ruby said "pineapple is a versatile food" . . .
no fat, high in vitamin C and full of the flavour of Queensland sunshine. The blog continues as more and more pineapple recipes are discovered from around the world.

Mince veal. Make a thick white sauce from the fat, flour,
and milk, and allow to cool a little. Add meat and flavours. Mix well and turn
on to a plate to cool. Divide mixture evenly into portions, taking 1 tblsp at a
time, and shape into croquettes. Prepare 1 tblsp flour, ½ tsp salt, and a shake
of pepper on a piece of kitchen paper. Mix egg with a little milk on a soup
plate. Have 2 cups dried breadcrumbs on a plate. First cover all croquettes
with the seasoned flour. Then brush them with the egg mixture. Remove, drain,
and roll in breadcrumbs. Shake off loose crumbs. Wet fry in deep fat till
golden brown. Drain.

Drain away all fat except 2 tablespoons. Dip pineapple in
seasoned flour and fry quickly on both sides for a few minutes until golden
brown, turning once.

If you Google "Anyone for croquet?" you'll learn just how many croquet clubs there are in the world! I still don't know who originally termed this phrase but I did read some amusing anecdotes about the game:

"Croquet came first at the Paris Olympics of 1900, and was
the first Olympic event that women could enter. All the medals were won by
France which is not surprising, as the only non-French competitor was a Belgian
that failed to complete the first round."

“Lewis Carroll
featured a nonsense version of the game in the popular children's novel Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland: a hedgehog was used as the ball, a flamingo the
mallet, and playing cards as the hoops.” No mention of pineapples!

This one’s my favourite “H. G. Wells wrote The Croquet
Player, which uses croquet as a metaphor for the way in which people confront
the very problem of their own existence.” http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquet

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Ella, Les and I enjoyed a fabulous Lebanese Gourmet Food
Safari (her wonderful birthday present to me!) in Sydney last Saturday. I can't
rave about it enough and would recommend you all go on that or one similar when
in Sydney or Melbourne. We were guided by an energetic and enterprising young
Syrian Australian, Sharon Salloum, who's the chef at the Almond Bar in Darlinghurst
and author of “Almond Bar,100 delicious Syrian recipes”.

We were bused around butchers, bakers, grocers, nut
roasters, pizza cafes and sweet shops in Canterbury, Lakemba, Punchbowl and
Greenacre. Many of these were family businesses. A lovely lunch with a wide
variety of dishes was served at Al Aseel in Greenacre.

Baalbek Bakery in Cantebury.

Sharon’s knowledge of Middle Eastern cuisine, family
anecdotes, information on ingredients and enthusiasm for the food customs of
her heritage were highly inspiring.

Plus there was more than enough food to taste at each
stop! Everything was delicious!

Although pineapple didn’t appear to feature often in
Lebanese cuisine we did spot these dried pineapple at The Nut Roaster in
Lakemba (note the inexpensive price)

and cakes at Five Star Sweets in
Greenacre. This last stop was a treat for our eyes as well as our taste buds! Yummy
baklawa!

A Gourmet Safari is definitely an ideal present or something to
experience with friends. We’re thinking we’d like to try an Italian Safari next.
Whose birthday is coming up?

First
step: poaching the pineapple (can be done one day ahead to meld the flavours)

1.
Cut and peel the pineapple, making sure no knobs remain. Cut off the core and
discard. Dice all the remaining pineapple flesh evenly in small pieces. Place
in a bowl.

2.
Place the vanilla bean in a flat surface and smooth out with the blade of a
knife; cut in half lengthwise and scrape off all the seeds.

3.
In a large pot, place 1/3 of the sugar and 2 1/2 cups of water and the vanilla
seeds and bean; bring to a boil and when it starts boiling, stir until the
sugar is dissolved, then add the pineapple pieces, reduce the heat and simmer
gently for 15 minutes.

4.
Place the pineapple pieces in a bowl, cover with the syrup and let the mixture
cool. Remove the vanilla bean, wash and dry and keep for another use.

Second
step: Making the cake batter

1.
Place the three eggs in the mixer bowl; start mixing, adding the remaining
sugar gradually. Mix until the mixture is turned pale yellow.

2.
Sift the flour and salt into the egg mixture, gradually at first, until the
flour mixture disappears into the egg mixture; add the baking powder to the
cake batter. Add the melted butter slowly until the butter is incorporated. Add
the drained pineapple pieces to the cake batter, folding gently to mix
throughout.

3.
Butter a non-stick cake mold and pour the batter into it. Bake in a preheated
180°C oven for about 30 minutes or until the cake is golden and puffed up.
(Insert a toothpick to check if the cake is ready).

4.
Remove from the oven and prick the cake all over with the toothpick; pour the
pineapple syrup on the cake; let the cake absorb the syrup and cool. Serve.

1.
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, saving a few pieces of pineapple
for the topping

2.
Now turn the mixture into an ungreased dish or cake tin, sprinkle on the
breadcrumbs and decorate with the pieces of pineapple

3.
Bake for about 30 minutes. If using toasted oats, sprinkle these on before
serving

Although this was
located in the Dessert Section of the book I made the sweet potato pie as an accompaniment
to pork and it was delicious, Anne

Not all the excitement’s in Brazil this month, there is an
event happening in Australia that would be well worth the trip to
Queensland.

HARVEST is a celebration of Art, Film + Food opening at the
Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane on 28 June. On until 21 September this
exhibition promises to include a display of “pineapple art objects” !

Wednesday, 11 June 2014

Roving reporter, Colleen, did some investigative journalism for
the Pineapple Princesses while on a recent trip to the UK. Here is her account.

“The following are just some of the pineapples spotted
around London. They certainly seem almost as obsessed today as they were in the
19th century.

Well, this magazine (mostly of real estate with stratospheric prices and shopping) was in the hallway of Kat's flat building so I borrowed it for a while. I think you have a pair of earrings in your collection a bit like these - what a trend-setter!"

Grapes also appear to be popular.

"Now we have a tie in Spitalfields, an edgy, arty
neighbourhood and a top which was for sale in Liberty for a substantial sum
(£215.00)!

These are some gorgeous containers from Merchant Archive.
They are supposedly copies of Victorian pineapple keepers. This shop also had a
dress with an all-over pineapple pattern (not photographed). It was a very up-market chi-chi shop in Notting Hill.”

“Eleanor Coade (1733 –1821) was a British businesswoman
known for manufacturing Neoclassicalstatues, architectural decorations and
garden ornaments made of Lithodipyra (Coade stone) for over 50 years from 1769
until her death. Lithodipyra (stone fired twice) was a high quality, durable
moulded weather-resistant, ceramic stoneware.” (Wikipedia)

Source: Contributed by Barossa & Light Legacy Club in A Legacy of Recipes (Adelaide: Legacy Club of Adelaide, 1991), p.124.

8 chicken
pieces

2 tbsp plain
flour

1 tbsp
butter/margarine

1 tbsp oil

1 packet
chicken noodle soup

1 cup water

425g can
pineapple pieces and syrup

1 sliced
carrot

1 sliced
green pepper or sliced green beans

Method: Coat
chicken with flour and brown in mixture of butter and oil. Place chicken in
casserole and sprinkle with any remaining flour and the contents of packet of
soup. Add 1 cup of water, pineapple pieces and syrup and the carrot. Cover and
cook at 180C (350F) for 1&1/4 - 1&1/2 hours. Add green pepper or beans
and cook for a further 10 minutes.